Antitrust now a battleground for Google and foes

ANTITRUST NOW A BATTLEGROUND FOR GOOGLE AND FOES
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jim Puzzanghera]
Opponents see one last chance to cut Google Inc. off at the pass before the Internet giant attains total dominance -- by staging an old-fashioned regulatory ambush. The behind-the-scenes battle over federal approval of Google's proposed $3.1-billion acquisition of DoubleClick Inc. could shape the Internet's future. At stake: control of the growing online advertising market, estimated at $21.7 billion this year. "Google dominates half the online ad market. It wants the other half," said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, which has joined other public-interest groups in asking the Federal Trade Commission to block the deal unless privacy safeguards are put in place. "Once it does that, it is unstoppable." Blair Levin, an analyst at brokerage Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., said competitors such as Microsoft Corp. are trying to take advantage of the edge they have over Google in the nation's capital where the company is a relative newcomer to Washington. Competitors and public interest groups sprung into action this year, when Google moved to solidify its dominance as the leading Internet search engine and provider of text ads by purchasing DoubleClick, a leading online advertising firm. Led by Microsoft, which lost out in the bidding for DoubleClick, they complained to federal officials that Google was on the verge of amassing too much power over Internet advertising and the trove of personal information that comes with it.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-google6aug06,1,484660...
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